Hi All.
Quite ok at body work and painting etc, but have a rear plastic bumper that a bollard has driven into and it has raised part of the surface,I have
bumper filler for the other damaged bit but have never dealt with raised area, its probably about 5mm proud, would it be ok to warm it with a heat
gun to push down then fill? If not how would you normally deal with this sort of damage?
quote:
Originally posted by Mikef
... but have a rear plastic bumper that a bollard has driven into ...
It's just amazing they way they come right at you. Thats my story and I am sticking to it.
I had a similar thing reverse into me last year and did quite a bit of damage to the plastic bumper on my Volvo. I fixed it by removing the bumper
and with the combination of a blow torch to warm it up, and a bowl of cold water and a sponge to cool it down managed to push out the damage and
reshape it. You have to look very closely to see there's been a repair and I saved the cost of a new bumper and paint job.
I applied the blow torch carefully to the rear of the bumper to avoid damaging the paint. Obvious, but it's plastic so you must avoid localised
heat - keep the torch moving.
As soon as the plastic started to go a little soft I pushed it into shape with my hand or pieces of wood and then used water to cool it on the
outside.
It took a good hour, working a bit at a time, but the result are surprisingly good.
I had a fair bit of damage but removing the bumper gives you access to both sides and makes the job much easier. If unsure how to remove you bumper
try Google - 5 bolts and 5 mins work on the Volvo.
Brill . Many thanks, its not that bad so a will get a heat gun on it.
Domestic clothes iron can also be useful --- not too hot use an old tea towel between the iron and the bumper and warm the plastic slowly to let the heat go through full thickness.
A Cornish wall bumped the plastic bumper of our hire van whilst it was manoeuvring. A few kettles of boiling water softened it enough for it to be pushed back into shape.